Here's the Tom DeLay mug shot snapped this afternoon when the deposed House majority leader appeared at a Harris County, Texas sheriff's office to be booked on conspiracy and money laundering charges. The Republican pol, 58, was forced to submit to a brief photo and fingerprint session after a District Judge yesterday issued an arrest warrant for him. The congressman is scheduled for his initial court appearance tomorrow in Travis County District Court.

The Frieze Art Fair takes place every October in Regent's Park, London. It features over 150 of the most exciting contemporary art galleries in the world. As well as these exhibitors, the fair includes specially commissioned artists' projects and an ambitious talks programme.

The third edition of the fair will take place between 21-24 October, 2005.

The chief executive of Betfair, the online betting exchange operator, has resigned abruptly after the privately owned company’s decision to postpone its plans for a £1 billion flotation.

Stephen Hill, a former chief executive of the Financial Times Group, left yesterday. His duties have been assumed by Sir Robert Horton, the former Railtrack boss, who became non-executive chairman in March last year ahead of a possible initial public offering (IPO).

The company said that Mr Hill had decided to leave after a board meeting at which it had been confirmed that the company had “no plans to float in the immediate future”.

A source close to the betting firm said that Mr Hill had wanted to press ahead with an IPO in the first quarter of 2006, whereas the rest of the board had decided that there was "no good reason" to do so.

The source cited the continuing search for a finance director and uncertainty over the Treasury’s forthcoming review of the way in which betting exchanges are taxed as factors in the delay. Owen O’Donnell quit as finance director in July after only 18 months in the job.

However, analysts said that a bigger factor was likely to have been the recent crash in sentiment towards online gambling stocks after PartyGaming’s warning of slowing growth prospects.

One analyst added: "I guess that they saw the valuation coming down and decided to pull it."

The biggest shareholders in Betfair are Andrew Black and Edward Wray, its founders, who between them have almost 30 per cent. Europeatweb, an internet-based fund controlled by Bernard Arnault, the LVMH boss, has about 10 per cent.

Betfair said that Mr Hill had left to pursue plans for a new venture that would invest in small and medium-sized companies, focusing on turnaround situations.

He is expected to get a payout equivalent to half his £325,000 salary, and it is believed that he will retain the 3.13 million shares that are held in an employee benefit trust in his name.

The shares are technically owned by him already and he is expected to retain them until he can crystallise the value after an IPO. They would be worth more than £20 million if Betfair were to attract a £1 billion valuation.

A former colleague at the FT, Charles Pretzlik, the newspaper’s UK Companies Editor, said: "I think it is fair to say (Mr Hill) is not one of those people who necessarily makes friends wherever he goes."

A recent Board meeting which focused on the timings of any possible IPO confirmed that the Company has no plans to float in the immediate future. Stephen has therefore decided to pursue plans for a new venture, focusing on investment in small- to medium-sized companies and providing management, specialising in growth and turnaround situations.

Sir Robert Horton will take the role of Executive Chairman. Operational matters will be handled by Chief Operating Officer David Yu. The company will begin a search for a new Chief Executive, and an announcement will be made in due course.

Stephen Hill said, “I have enjoyed my time at Betfair and believe that I have done what I set out to do. The business is thriving; international expansion is progressing well; and our portfolio of products is growing. I am proud to have been associated with the company. However, I feel now is the right time to make this move.”

Sir Robert Horton, Chairman, said, “Stephen leaves us with a top class management team and the ability to scale significantly. We understand his reasons for leaving, and we wish him all the best in his new venture.”

The competition between the two of them continues, even as they cash out.

Calacanis to AOLWeblogs Inc Being Bought Out By America Online: [by Rafat Ali] As usual, you read it here first: Weblogs Inc, the blog media company founded by Jason Calacanis (pictured at We Media conference today) and Brian Alvey, is being bought by America Online, paidContent.org has learned from multiple sources.

Denton sells to VNUNick Denton's Gawker Media has signed a deal with the Dutch company VNU Media to publish the geek gadget blog Gizmodo across Europe in six languages, with augmented local coverage in each country.

Psst! Have you heard about BzzAgent? Find out why this company is on everybody's lips.by Gwen Moran, Entrepreneur magazine

Just call Dave Balter the Buzzmaster. The 33-year-old founder of BzzAgent Inc., a word-of-mouth marketing agency in Boston that projects sales of $10 million to $15 million in 2005, is so good at talking up products and services that he's got 92,000 volunteers--dubbed BzzAgents--talking up his clients.